McCluskey to celebrate 40th anniversary of Gibraltar g...

McCluskey to celebrate 40th anniversary of Gibraltar general strike

28 November 2012

Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, will attend the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Gibraltar general strike to pay tribute to the major role the trade union movement has played - and continues to play - in delivering justice and equality on the Rock.

During the two day visit from 28-29 November, the Unite general secretary will meet the first minister Fabian Picardo of the Gibraltarian Socialist Labour party, who was elected last December.

Unite has welcomed the first minister's decision to resolve the issue of Moroccan workers who had been refused nationality by previous administrations, even though they had worked on the Rock for years. Mr Picardo worked closely with Unite which had been campaigning for justice and listened to its recommendations for granting nationality to the migrant workers.

The 1972 general strike was a key moment in the Labour movement's history and the citizens of Gibraltar continue to enjoy its achievements, the most significant of which was creating the basis for parity pay and conditions between Gibraltar's public sector workers and UK public sector workers.

Unite general secretary Len McCLuskey said: "The trade union movement has a proud history in Gibraltar and today the unions continue to deliver justice and fairness to workers on the Rock regardless of nationality.

"It is right that we should pay tribute to the leaders and the workers who fought for fairness and justice . Forty years later Gibraltarians continue to enjoy many of the rights which the trade unions secured all those years ago."

Len McCluskey will also meet with Unite union officials from Gibraltar and representatives of the Moroccan workers. Three fraternal delegations, the UGT and the Commissiones Obreras from Spain and the UGT from Morocco will also meet with Len McCluskey.

ENDS

Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315

Unite is Britain, Ireland’s and Gibraltar's largest trade union with 1.5 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.